MLB All Star 5k

For all of you who ask, "how do you cook so much and stay thin?" Well, here's how. I don't.

Running in the new neighborhood (which isn't so new anymore, really) isn't as convenient as the old neighborhood. There are hills. And traffic. So I stopped running as often, and what happened from there should be pretty obvious.

First, I caved and bought Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. It's 100% gimmicky but I've heard so much about it, I figured for a few bucks I'd try it. Have I mentioned how much I do not like her? Or the Biggest Loser? I only watched it once but ... we'll, I'll elaborate if you want some other time. Suffice it to say, do not like. New arch nemesis.

Sad to say, it really does work. I haven't done a consistent 30 days because I can't. I hurt so much the next day that I can barely walk, much less do it again or go running. And I fancy myself a fairly fit person.

But this was supposed to be about the MLB All Star game 5k event. They really made this game into a week-long deal. Anyway, I dragged my poor husband at the crack of dawn on a Sunday out to Angels Stadium in Anaheim for the race.

What can I say? The course was nice. It was reminiscent of that-we-can't-talk-about-this-year
and my arch nemesis was there to kick things off. Ugh.

But guess what?


Super PR!! When I saw the clock at 28 minutes, I threw myself a big cheering party across the timing mats. Did I look insane? Probably. Whatever.

And for new runners, or people who are just curious: this is the first race I've run the whole way through, without walking. That obviously contributed to my time, but I wasn't doing poorly walking either. So, don't worry if you have to walk every now and then. You'll get there!

Resolution #1: Purge! Or letting go.

Yup, I made a boring one. Clean up and get organized.

Now, storage really hasn't become a problem yet. You tend to live pretty efficiently when you're continuously planning your next move, packing up, and moving to a new apartment (notorious for limited storage space). But over years, you tend to accumulate ... stuff. And it all seems pretty important.

First, I have boxes of books from school. I'll bet you do too. Oh Amazon textbook trade-in, where were you years ago when I needed you? I did alright in undergrad with the book exchange, but that was only around my last year or so and didn't really help me on the other side of the country.

It turns out that trading in your textbooks isn't worth it, if you can sell them in the marketplace! For example: I had a pristine finance textbook that they'd take as a trade in for $10. I sold it in the marketplace for $57. I can price my books low, because I'm really just trying to get rid of them. And I'd like to tell myself that I'm helping someone out who would otherwise struggle to afford a book that, new, costs three times as much. And it's fascinating to see the names and addresses where they've all been going. Between that, and media mail rates at the USPS on the way home from work, this is turning into a fairly successful operation!

Then there's the stacks of boxes in the closet, of which you have to open every single one until you find what you're looking for. These are all now labeled, and if I can get rid of more of these books, I can condense the boxes even more. But I'm stuck on what to do with the specially printed readers - suggestions? I have a full box.

Then there's the clothes. I only buy and keep clothes that I love, but you can see how this might get overwhelming over the years. (Yes, I still have clothes from high school ... and maybe some from junior high school ...) Some just don't fit any more. Some are so old and worn, that I should really stop wearing them to work, as wearing worn out clothes doesn't actually motivate anyone to pay you more.

Among deciding what stays and what goes is deciding what to fix and what to let go. Favorite black pants with the missing hook? Fixed. And worn liberally since. Although now I have an entire box of what look like extremely large bra hooks, and I don't intend on making my own bras thank you. Shoes with the loose button are almost fixed. Pilly, shrunken sweaters that are too warm for California? Out.

So, I've made a little progress. There's a lot to go - organizing paperwork, craft supplies, cards. And moving boxes I haven't even unpacked yet. Here's to a neatly organized home in 2010!

February Resolutions

I don't believe in new year's resolutions. The whole thing seems silly, because can't you resolve to do or not do something any time? Why not a Tuesday resolution, or a February 1st resolution?

And then, everyone seems to make one of a handful of the same resolutions: lose weight, save money, get organized, stop some bad habit. We're a creative bunch, aren't we?

Let's look at 2009 for a minute:

• Graduated from school. Yes, I technically graduated in 2008, but all the celebrations were in May 2009, and my parents came to see me (!), and it's a really freaking big deal, so I can count it in two years.
  
• Bought my first new car. What an experience.
  
• Planned a wedding with all the fun before and after. Yes, I had help planning, and did do some before 2009, but the bulk of it happened those four months before.
• Participated in a duathlon. That was a crazy experience. And the half marathon. Oh, and somehow trained for both.
  
• Went to a cake decorating class. Mad skills acquired.
  
• My newly minted little brother moved out to LA. Hi neighbor!
  
• Rotated in to my last rotational position at work, and then got placed. That's three jobs in 2009. And yes, that's abnormal. Especially since one job was at a different site.
• Bought a house, moved, and had our first married Christmas in our new home.
  

So, when I said I was tired and hoped 2010 was a big bore, I was completely serious.

But January 2010 was a terrible month. Lots of bad goings-on. And I realized that some of these things wouldn't have bothered me so much last year, because I had so many other things to divert my attention.

Don't worry, though: I'm going to give 2010 a chance to redeem itself. This year I'm going to do things that I wanted to do before, but didn't have time. Some things I've started, some I'm just starting, and some I don't even know where to begin! So I'll let you know if I get any bright ideas.